Dancer

Unwanted, Unloved, Underfed, and Misunderstood

Bay TB Mare

Entry Date – 2/27/2013 at approximately 20 years of age

Reason – Unwanted

Special needs – None

In February of 2013, Dancer became one of the many aged horses whose owners no longer see them as useful. This petite and energetic Thoroughbred mare’s story is heartbreakingly common. Having lost the friendship and support of her family, despite her years of service, Dancer was without alternatives for her care. She needed a friend.

The reasons for such abandonment and neglect are legion. The death of an owner; owners becoming too old to care for themselves let alone a large animal; loss of interest of a young person on the way to college or career; an assessment that the horse is no longer “useful;” lack of knowledge of how to care for an older horse are some of the situations horses like Dancer are faced with as they age. No matter the reason, her future without Equamore was bleak.

Unlike so many other older horses, Dancer was lucky! She had an Equamore Friend who had been monitoring her situation for some years and intervened to bring her to the Sanctuary.

She initially bonded with Buckley, whom she consoled for the loss of his old friend Henry. When Buckley died she befriended another Thoroughbred mare named Lucy who passed last year. While she has had numerous heath issues and losses of herd mates at the Sanctuary, she continues to be a sweet and loving horse enjoying her daily turnout with her new partner, Tango, quietly grazing and grooming each other in the field.